Long Term Residency

Applications for Long Term Residency - We are currently processing applications for Long Term Residency received in the latter 6 months of 2009.

LONG TERM RESIDENCY (FEES) REGULATIONS 2009 come into effect from 7 September 2009

Please see:

Long Term Residency (Fees) Regulations 2009: S.I. No. 287 of 2009.pdf   This document is a pdf 

How do I know if I am eligible to apply for Long Term Residency in Ireland?

(i) Applications from persons who have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of 5 years (i.e. 60 months) on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions:

Applications for Long Term Residency in Ireland are currently processed as an administrative scheme. Persons who have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of five years (i.e. 60 months) on the basis of work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions may apply to this office for a five year residency extension. In that context, they may also apply to be exempt from employment permit requirements. 

Long Term Residency is granted on the basis that a non EEA national has completed a minimum of five years (i.e. 60 months) legal residence in the State on work permit conditions which is reflected in the corresponding Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 endorsements on a person's passport (not by the dates of commencement and expiry of each work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions). When calculating the reckonable period of 60 months legal residence, this office only takes into consideration time spent in the State legally on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions. Periods of time for which a person has not been legally resident in the state (i.e. does not have an up to date endorsement on work permit conditions on their passport) cannot be counted towards an application for Long Term Residency. 

A successful applicant in this situation will be granted Permission to Remain on a Stamp 4 which is valid for 5 years.

(ii) Applications from Spouses/Dependents

The spouse and/or dependant(s) of the applicant for Long Term Residency may also apply for Long Term Residency. In order to apply for Long Term Residency as a spouse/dependant, the applicant must be legally resident in the State as a spouse/dependent for the required 60 month period(i.e. minimum of 5 years).

Successful applications from those who apply as a spouse/dependent will be granted Permission to Remain on a Stamp 3. This particular long term permission does not exempt the spouse/dependant(s) from employment permit requirements. 

(Note: See last paragraph for categories of persons for which applications for Long Term Residency cannot be accepted).

How do I apply?

The following documents, together with a covering letter of application clearly indicating the passport endorsements relating to each work permit, should be submitted to: 

The Long Term Residency Section,

General Immigration Division,

3rd Floor,

INIS,

13-14 Burgh Quay,

Dublin 2

 

Documents to be lodged:

1. Copy of applicant's work permits.

2. Copy of applicant's Certificate of Registration from Garda National Immigration Bureau (i.e. GNIB Card).

3. Clear and legible copy (or copies) of applicant's passport(s) including all endorsements. (In the event that your passport has expired since arriving in the State, please submit copies of both passports).

Permission to Remain and Current Processing Time

Applications from non EEA nationals who have not completed the minimum 5 years (i.e. 60 months) legal residency in the State at the date of application will not be considered for Long Term Residency.

Please also note that the current processing time is approximately 14 months.

What if I do not have the appropriate 60 months?

Applications from non EEA nationals who have not completed the 60 months legal residency at time of application will not be accepted.

Fee for Long Term Residency

  • The prescribed fee for Long Term Residency is €500. Once a decision has been made to grant an applicant Long Term Residency, a letter of approval is issued to the applicant. This letter informs the applicant they have been approved for Long Term Residency and asks that the prescribed fee be submitted within a 28 day time period.
  • Payment of the prescribed fee can be made by way of a bank draft or postal order, made payable to the Secretary General, Department of Justice and Law Reform. Payment in the form of personal or company cheques cannot be accepted.

  • Once the prescribed fee has been paid, and all other criteria have been met, a letter will issue to the applicant or his/her solicitor/legal representative granting Long Term Residency on Stamp 4 for 5 years. A letter will also issue to GNIB informing them of the decision to grant Long Term Residency and of the appropriate stamp to be given to the applicant (Stamp 3 or Stamp 4).

    Note: If the prescribed fee is not paid within 28 days of the issue of the approval letter, this section will not pursue the matter further with the applicant. However, should an applicant wish to complete the Long Term Residency process at a later date, he/she should be aware that some steps in the processing procedure may need to be repeated and this may result in further delays.

Renewal of Long Term Residency

In order to renew Long Term Residency for a further 5 years, it is not necessary to submit a new application for Long Term Residency. Simply attend at your local Immigration Office to renew your Long Term Residency permission to remain for a further 5 years.

Summary of Eligibility Requirements for Long Term Residency

Persons who have been legally resident in the State may apply for Long Term Residency subject to the conditions below: 

  • The qualifying time is a minimum of 5 years (60 months) reckonable residence at the date of application.
  • Only legal residence on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions can be taken into account.
  • The applicant holds a combination of Work Permits and Green Card (Employment) Permits.
  • Residence referred to must be reflected by Stamp 1 or Stamp 4 endorsements on an applicant's passport and not by the dates on work permits. (In the case of spouses/dependents the passport is usually endorsed with Stamp 3 or a combination of Stamp 1 and Stamp 3).
  • The applicant previously held work permits and is now resident in the State under Hosting Agreement Conditions.
  • Applicants must be of good character.
  • Applicants must have permission to remain at time of application and must keep their permission to remain up to date while application is being processed.
  • Time periods where a person does not have permission to remain are not counted when calculating reckonable residence.
  • It should also be noted that dependants of applicants who have been successfully granted Long Term Residency may apply for Long Term Residency but will only be granted a Stamp 3 (Dependant's stamp) for 5 years and are not released from work permit conditions should their application be successful.
  • The applicant has permission to remain as a fully registered doctor. 

How do I know if I am ineligible to apply for Long Term Residency?

Applications for Long Term Residency cannot be accepted from persons listed in the following categories: 

  • The applicant is an EEA National (EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein & Norway).
  • The applicant has permission to remain on the basis of his/her marriage to an Irish national (refer applicant to Spouse of Irish National Unit). 
  • The applicant has permission to remain on the basis of his/her marriage to an EEA national. (refer applicant to EU Treaty Rights Section) 
  • The applicant has permission to remain on Student Conditions (Stamp 2 & Stamp 2A) 
  • The applicant has permission to remain as a temporary registered doctor. 
  • The applicant has been made redundant and has been lawfully resident and worked for 5 years with an employment permit issued by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation or has been lawfully resident and has worked in accordance with an employment permit for less than 5 years and has been made redundant involuntarily. (See "New Provisions for Non-EEA workers who are made redundant").
  •  The applicant has permission to remain under the old IBC and IBC-05 schemes or has had such permission renewed. (refer to IBC section) 
  • The applicant was granted permission to remain under the Turkish Agreement (Turkish Association – Stamp 4 for 1 year – renewable with local Immigration Officer) 
  • The applicant was granted permission to remain under Humanitarian Leave to Remain or was granted Refugee Status or entered the State under the Family Reunification scheme. 
  • The applicant has permission to remain on the basis of an Intra-company Transfer. 
  • The applicant is working at a foreign embassy in the State. 
  • Permission to Remain issued under the Work Holiday Authorisation scheme (see www.dfa.ie) is not counted for the purposes of Long Term Residency. 
  • The applicant has Business Permission to Remain. The awarding of Business Permission to Remain is not a statutory-based scheme and no work permit is issued to the applicant. Information on this scheme can be found on the INIS website under 'Immigration'. 

  • The applicant holds only Green Card (Employment) permits. Once the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 has been enacted, Green Card (Employment) Permit holders will be eligible to make direct application to the Minister for Justice and Law Reform for consideration for Long Term Residency.

    Please note: Persons who are made redundant should refer to www.inis.gov.ie  "Update on Redundancy Policy and Provisions for 5 year workers" with regard to keeping Permission to Remain up to date.